When was the last time you were frustrated because you couldn’t remove a stubborn stain from some surface? Maybe there was a situation where you wanted to draw a sticker or label out from a glass or plastic bottle; you have come to the right place. There is a solution for these problems – a product called Magic Eraser.

The term magic may sound like an exaggeration, but this product really works. It is not like those videos for better skin health or weight loss that use photoshop. This product is used and tested, and if you use it right, the cleaning can be your fun time of the day. Read this article with complete focus as you will learn how to use magic eraser and make your life simpler!

Is a Magic Eraser better than a sponge?

Magic Eraser pads have clear advantages over other sponges; one is that they don’t require cleaning products, meaning you won’t need to waste money or storage space on expensive household cleaners.

How to Use Magic Eraser

Before considering if you should clean a surface, know that melamine sponges have a Mohs hardness of 4, regular glass has a Mohs hardness of 5.5, and bathroom tile has a usual hardness of around 7. So it’s safe to clean these surfaces but be very careful with anything softer.

1. Don’t forget to wear gloves, as they can sand away the skin around your nails and cause splits.
2. The most crucial step is to perform a spot test before using it on a surface.
3. Then wet the magic eraser. Although magic erasers can be used dry, adding a little water will help them absorb dirt more easily.
4. After you wet the eraser, squeeze out any excess water, like you usually do with a regular sponge.
5. Wipe down the surface that you want to clean.

Why Are Melamine Sponges So Good?

The foam is abrasive, so when you scrub it along a surface, it’s like using excellent sandpaper; maybe this sounds strange, but there are no other added chemicals in the Magic Eraser.

How does it work? The abrasive foam loosens up dirt, absorbing and trapping it in the sponge. The melamine resin cures into foam, and the microstructure becomes almost as hard as glass. 

Melamine is hard plastic blown into tiny bubbles, and when wet, melamine’s abrasiveness is the equivalent of 3,000-5,000 grit sandpaper.

What kind of surfaces can they clean? 

• Magic erasers can clean shoes, walls, dirty bathrooms, and paint or nail polish stains
• Remove marker, pen, and crayon marks off walls, light switches, and furniture
• You can polish your silver jewelry and remove tarnish from jewelry and silver utensils
• You can clean residue off-dry erase marker boards (you can remove even permanent markers from whiteboards)
• You can remove scuff marks, pen marks, and dirt build-up on leather couches, purses, and luggage
• You can clean keyboards, mouse, and other electronics; use it on everything except on the screen!
• Remove scum from your shower and glass door
• Remove coffee, tea, and kool-aid stains from countertops
• You can clean car interiors, exteriors, wheels, and paint scratches
• Clean RVs and boats, inside and out
• Remove bugs stuck on cars, windshields, house siding, etc. (always spot test, and rub very gently)
• Remove ink and paint stains from hands
• Take baking soda splish into your toilet bowl and use the Magic Eraser to clean toilet bowl stains

Read more: How to Clean Car Seats

Don’ts of How to Use Magic Eraser

• Don’t scrub your stainless steel too hard; you can make it look dull. If your stainless steel devices have scratches, try sanding them out instead
• Magic Erasers come in handy for removing dirt and grime from your car’s cup holders and dashboard; however it is advisable not to use them to polish the outside of your vehicle as it can damage your car’s paint
• Don’t use it on your pots and pans as it can cause scratches, and some of that coating can get into your food
• If you have any valuable collectibles, such as toys and hand-me-down jewelry, your collectibles aren’t worth the risk of doing any damage with a magical eraser 
• While you can use Magic Erasers to get marks off a painted wall, don’t use them to clean wood paneling, as the abrasiveness can strip away the finish
• Be extremely careful when using Magic Erasers on painted surfaces with glossy finishes; it can damage the finish and make it look dull and uneven

Are Magic Erasers Safe?

The ingredients in Magic Eraser have been used for many years in a wide range of household products.

A while back, there were some false reports about health concerns related to these sponges. Mainly, there were some unfounded claims that these sponges contain formaldehyde. In reality, they have “formaldehyde-melamine-sodium bisulfite”. Even though this includes the word “formaldehyde”, this is not an ingredient of this product, and there are no associated health risks.

The melamine foam that they contain is not toxic to the environment. On the other hand, formaldehyde can irritate the skin, eyes, nose, and throat. Also, high levels of exposure may cause some types of cancers. Formaldehyde has never been an ingredient in Magic Eraser, posing no health or safety risks.

The drawbacks

One downside is that Magic Erasers do wear down quickly, so if you have a lot of projects to tackle, you want to purchase a few boxes. 

They wear down because the cell structure loosens the dirt and grabs the grime simultaneously, causing the material to break down. It could also be because you are using it wrong or the surface; rough surfaces will easily tear the magic eraser. It starts falling apart when it is already thin enough to rub on the surface.

However, you can extend the use time by cutting it into small pieces, as it will work the same as if it was the whole piece.

Can you reuse a Magic Eraser? It depends on what purpose you were using it for. An extensive job can use up a whole eraser, while a small job can leave it reusable. It dissolves slowly, and it just kind of disappears.

Read more: How Much PSI to Wash Car

Conclusion

You shouldn’t lose time thinking about buying such an incredible sponge as Magic Eraser is. You can use it on different surfaces, and it will definitely work, leaving the surface crystal clean and you happy. Don’t hesitate to give it a try.

Hope you liked this article, and now you know how to use a Magic Eraser to get the best results. Happy cleaning!